Whistleblowers 'should be thanked'

Daniel Ellsberg, the first whistleblower prosecuted in US history, discusses Snowden, Chelsea Manning and espionage.

The US has handed Edward Snowden a small victory by refusing to renew clauses in the Patriot Act regarding surveillance.

Congress just passed the USA Freedom Act, meaning that phone records can no longer be collected by the National Security Agency (NSA), or other agencies, unless via a court order.

Two years ago, Snowden, a former NSA contractor, made headlines when he revealed that intelligence agencies, through rules laid down in the US Patriot Act were systematically tracking Americans' phone records and collecting their emails through a series of surveillance tools.

Richard Gizbert sits down with Daniel Ellsberg, the first whistleblower prosecuted in US history who says that Snowden should be thanked for leaking the information, instead of being forced into exile.

In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg gave the so-called Pentagon Papers to the New York Times, the Washington Post and 17 other newspapers. He has re-emerged as an advocate for those who want the truth to get out like Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning.